That Starmer fella...

I have a theory that they keep briefing journalists that they might drop it, purely to remind those that read the papers that the policy exists.

Here’s a Getty image that looks very like the one used on the card:
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/labour-party-leader-sir-keir-starmer-and-his-wife-victoria-news-photo/1727756557

Oh look, here’s a similar photo on this Sky story:
https://news.sky.com/story/who-is-keir-starmers-wife-lady-victoria-starmer-12981688

Here’s another taken from a lower perspective, on this independent story

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ap-uk-labour-party-jeremy-corbyn-liverpool-england-b2427236.html

But no, muh pixels

Edit - is he actually shorter than her? She’s in heels here:
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/labour-party-leader-sir-keir-starmer-celebrates-with-his-news-photo/1728007654

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/sir-keir-starmer-leader-of-the-labour-party-and-his-wife-news-photo/1727974934

So I wonder if the foreshortening is actually in the image that makes her look taller.

I don’t have time to trawl the internet for a free photo of the photographers at the 2023 conference, but here’s what the pack looked like at the 2018 conference:
https://www.alamy.com/photographers-and-tv-crew-in-front-of-the-main-stage-at-the-labour-party-annual-conference-2018-liverpool-image221752455.html

Photographers standing right next to each other taking different perspectives at the same time is exactly what happens at these events.

ok

🥨

Sorry, but you’re doing the pretzel with your photoshop conspiracy bollocks.

Maybe but if they are saying they might drop the policy as a strategy to publicise then doesn’t that provide ammunition for the U turn attacks (will happen regardless but seems a bit daft to help others take aim)?

Surely there must be better/more positive ways to publicise the policy?

Maybe they've already decided that he's made enough U-turns that being accused of one more isn't going to move the needle

(Half joking)

your photoshop conspiracy ¹

¹ citation needed

genuinely don't see how this Labour party being in charge instead of the Tories will make a great deal of difference to anything tbqfh.

Ridiculous

Lol shy Tories.

Yeah, wanting Labour to win the next election is a totally shy Tory position. And he’s short nyah nyah

genuinely don't see how this Labour party being in charge instead of the Tories will make a great deal of difference to anything tbqfh.

I guess there's a case to be made that governments only ever have a limited ability and are reactive to events.

But I think you're missing some fundamental points about where we are:

• Johnson and the Pro-Brexit wing of the Tories have culled all talent and experience. Whether you agree with their politics or ability of the previous crop, we're talking about a totally different league of incompetence.
  
• Starmer has real experience of leading in the public sector. He has not the standard Eton>Oxbridge>SPAD>Pokimon Minister.
  
• He is a long term strategist
  
• He has diversity of experience in his cabinet from passionate conviction politicians
  
  

These all make fundamental differences when it comes to how his government will perform.

The most perfect illustration of this is the day after 2019 election. Tories had a stonking majority and it looked like if Labour survived it would be a decade before they could hope to be back in government. Since then the Tories have squandered every opportunity and even having purged their party have been unable to unify. Labour have done the opposite. In 4yrs they have gone from having their existence questioned to people assuming they have an open goal.

Also let's be realistic here. It'll take at least 25yrs to make a dent in the destruction the Tories have brought on this country.

Obviously Starmer is not a fairy godmother. But he's a start.

ok. I hope I'm wrong, I really do.

I don't doubt things will be more compotently run for a second. Don't think that's in question. My issues are with Labour's seemingly endless 180⁰ on any policy that makes them look even a little progressive, the agreement with the government on a number of issues, or stating they don't go far enough.

then there's stuff like this https://twitter.com/SaulStaniforth/status/1709998140621783304

The purge of the left, and the fact that absolute weapons likes Wes Streeting, Luke Akehurst and Rosie fucking Duffield remain.

I do hope I'm wrong, but I really really don't think I am.

Starmer is not a fairy godmother

thanks for that mental image. Christmas is ruined. 😃

passionate conviction politicians

Is it Opposite Day already?

Starmer is as far from a passionate conviction politician as Johnson. There is absolutely no stance he has ever taken where he won’t crab-crawl to the right as soon as the Tories do. His only consistent policy is to man-mark the Tories and never take a stand on anything, or to protect anyone. He’s a craven, spineless fuck.

If the Tories announced a slow, painful death for all immigrants today, he’d bring in a quick, painless death policy tomorrow. Wasteman.

I thought the idea of Starmer shrinking his wife was just Christmas fun, not sure why anyone’s impassioned about it. (I choose to believe it because it’s funny and harmless, not necessarily because it’s true)

Wrt the green pledges, this article from June spells out pretty well that what matters above all is “labours financial rules”. manager speak for “if economy bad we austerity, if economy good we spend”, which doesn’t really work with green projects but none the less..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65853872.amp

The latest article nods to this too, but more points to the fact of it being a need to hide it from Tory attack lines, how much water you think that holds I’m sure will vary but they’ve been v keen on using the barometer of “if it annoys anyone remotely left of Neil coyle it’s good, if not change it”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/22/keir-starmer-considers-scaling-back-labour-28bn-pounds-green-plans#:~:text=Labour%20is%20considering%20scaling%20back,in%20the%20general%20election%20campaign.

It’s not really inspiring stuff, takes one to huff a lot of anyonebutthetories gas to feel particularly defensive of it and not just ambivalent. But it’s also a classic Starmer Schrödinger policy, will it won’t it, we don’t know till we vote for it, there is so many qualifiers for it he’s never lying or letting us down, how can you defend or be against it as it’s just a vague manifestation of noises, probability and energy in space at the moment etc etc, plays well to the crowd he wants to appeal to.

There ofc, is a monster gap between the tories and the Labour Party, silly to really pretend there isn’t. I do think however, part of being politically engaged is reminding yourself “you’re not on the team” even if you’re wearing the shirt, you can think your company is doing better than others but still remember you’re a worker of it, they’re a business.

silly to really pretend there isn’t

not sure anyone has done that, although I think you've overstated it, and labour are doing their best to reduce the space between them. Which is what happens when actively courting Tory voters.

He was so close to getting it here https://twitter.com/patrickkmaguire/status/1682680354455408640?t=jyv9qpW7tsUfkiYcwTA3hA&s=19

Despite that though I've seen nothing to suggest much has changed

He was so close to getting it here

I think that tweet meant something different to how you interpreted it?

It means the Tories using policies like ULEZ against Labour, because they are unpopular with target segments of the electorate. It doesn't mean the Tories adopting Labour policies.

(I choose to believe it because it’s funny and harmless, not necessarily because it’s true)

I dunno, the amount of BS that’s passed around as if it’s fact and becomes an accepted part of The Discourse - there’s a reason a lot of news agencies have dedicated rumour debunking teams, to try to correct a trend that is in essence deeply corrosive of our ability to think

yep. he just needed to join a few dots to get to the nub of the problem. the words are the same.

also I think it's telling that he said that (wit it being a Tory policy) , and what isn't said in "something wrong"

I was talking about the Shadow Cabinet in general. Thinking about who people like David Lammy, West Street ing, Angela Rayner, and Rachel Reeves are, where they're from, what they've done and basically what they're about.

Maybe I'm being unfair to the Tories or misusing "conviction". However, I can't express with words how strongly I disagree with the notion that think Johnson has convictions of any sort.

conviction politician

West Street ing

[https://youtu.be/rsRjQDrDnY8?feature=shared
]

unfair to the Tories

not a thing

I think taking a few words from a lengthy post and creating your own context could definitely be a thing !!!

And leaning into that you, on the last page, referenced Starmer as “the king of Grown Up Politics” 😀

what are you on about? @hugo7 said they were talking about the shadcab when they said

passionate conviction politicians

and gave Wesley as an example.

the king of Grown Up Politics

/s if that wasn't clear